It's in the Bag
by Mable
Summary: The twins play matchmaker in a very odd way that lands 6 in a bag and outside of 5's room. Surprising enough, this bizarre ordeal turns into something much different when he invites the Healer in with him. 5x6 Oneshot


**Mable: This is a request fic from Whose-Responsible-This; I hope it turned out good! It's based off of two comics done by Inkwriter as well, so she deserves her credit too. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**It's in the Bag**_

Three and Four weren't the best matchmakers. It wasn't because they weren't able to understand romance or pair Stitchpunks either. The twins' perception of relationships was actually quite keen when it came to it. They usually could match Stitchpunks on compatibility that the Stitchpunks themselves wouldn't even know that they had. They would watch carefully and pinpoint what would make who adequate mates. They somewhat took pride in this feat as it also allowed them to see which Stitchpunks were bound to become a couple in the future.

That didn't mean that all of their couples came to fruition and that was simply because sometimes the move just wasn't made. This is where Three and Four's status as matchmakers fell apart at the seams; they weren't very successful with physical plots. The time they had arranged a lovely evening under the stars in the courtyard for Seven and Nine went disastrous. This had been the first and last time they tried a physical stunt. They took a bench from the workshop, they decorated the area beneath a still standing statue, and set everything to perfection.

Unfortunately everything went wrong from there. First their ability to convoy messages was limited so Seven and Nine already barely knew where to go. The Warrior then nearly forgot it completely after a fight with One which distracted her. Nine got outside too early and thought the twins just wanted to show the bench so he nearly left. Then, finally, Seven and Nine were paired together. They sat alongside each other for a few seconds before a crackle of thunder rang and suddenly they dropped everything to head inside again.

Long story short; the twins weren't exactly sure on how to bring two couples together when they noted which would go well together. It was simple enough to observe and piece together the puzzle and became much too confusing once efforts needed to be taken. As such, there were two Stitchpunks who avoided their efforts perfectly, even though the two seemed like such a good match. They were very friendly, very compassionate, and all around a good match, but they were also clearly too quiet, both of them, to make an actual move.

At this rate they would live out their lives without making a single romantic gesture and the twins needed to do something. That was when they had just happened to stumble on the satchel. Three was the one who found it in the back of the cubby and looked over it in confusion. He hadn't even remembered when they had put it back here and called his sibling over to look at it. Four looked as well before being the more daring to actually open it. Her eyes met a couple of dominos in the bottom that were immediately interesting.

It wasn't after they had spent some time with the dominoes that their mind had went to the bag. As they were setting the little pieces upon each other to make miniature buildings, Four inquired about the bag and what they could do with it, as it was a shame to leave the bag unused. Three agreed; after all, it was a very lovely bag of navy and it was very soft with satin on the outside and silk on the inside. They weren't sure which of the two first suggested that a Stitchpunk could actually fit inside comfortably.

The plan in itself came out of nowhere and they doubted that it made much sense at all after they thought about it. Yet it seemed like the best one so far when they put together that it would successfully bring two Stitchpunks closer together. If these couples were so adamant to stay apart, Four suggested, then they would just have to be brought together under whatever circumstance necessary. Three agreed with her and took said bag with them as they headed back to the lift and into the Sanctuary above the Library.

Honestly Six wasn't expecting anyone at all and was lost in his drawing so he didn't notice when Three and Four peered in. They whispered amongst themselves with the flickering of their optics as they decided who would go first and how they would do it. Eventually they decided just to go in at the same time as to cost less, precious time. They rushed forward holding the bag tightly in their grasp. Six heard the footsteps and straightened a bit in confusion before going to look back. Before he could even catch a glimpse of the two Stitchpunks his vision was obscured by blue.

The cloth covered him and was tugged back so he fell forward as the fabric was pulled underneath him, securing him in some sort of soft bag. Immediately he began to feel his pulse race and released a small noise of distress. Yet this stopped as he caught a glimpse outside the bag of the twins and assumed it was some sort of game, which made him feel much less fearful and actually calmed down. It was clearly just a bag so it wasn't a threat and soon enough he was being dragged away along the floor.

His breathing quickened and he played with the idea of actually calling out and asking the other two what they were doing, but knew it was pointless as they couldn't speak and he certainly couldn't see them so that they could attempt to describe what they were doing in gestures. The twins, meanwhile, were starting to feel just a little nervous. Six wasn't too hard to slide across the floor and they were glad that he stayed quiet as he somewhat thrashed around, but now as they considered what to do from here they were confused.

When they arrived outside Five's room Four tied the bag closed with the small, ribbon drawstring and Three dashed down the hall towards Six's room once again before returning with a piece of paper that he drew a crud '5' on. Three didn't draw with his hands nearly as well as Six did. Four smiled and agree before they squeezed the paper under the drawstring to keep it be. By now Six spoke, "Three? Four?" He asked quietly and the two suddenly found this to be the perfect time to flee now knowing they were caught.

Four quickly knocked on the doorframe near the curtained entrance and the two fled down the fall. Six heard them go and sort of assumed that he was going to be sitting in the bag for a while. At least it was comfortable. The silk fabric felt good on his canvas and it was warm enough to be quite cozy. This somewhat helped with his situation and he calmly waited until he could hear footsteps approaching. He couldn't see as the curtain opened but sort of hoped that he hadn't been dropped in front of someone like Eight's room, who would probably use this opportunity to laugh.

Someone was checking the top of the bag and the tag of paper that Six didn't know was there before said Stitchpunk murmured, "What this?" To himself quietly. Six recognized the voice immediately as Five's. He had been taken outside of Five and Nine's bedroom. Five, meanwhile, was oblivious to the twins' efforts as they were missing when he came to the door. Instead there was a large, blue bag in the center of the floor with a small note mentioning him. "_This better not be Nine's laundry again." _He thought with a soft sigh before reaching forward to untie the knot.

The bag was opened and the two Stitchpunks caught sight of each other. Five stared down at Six who was sitting in the bag looking up at him with his mismatched optics. "Hi." Six finally spoke with a small wave and Five blinked a bit before Six added in, "It was the twins." Five looked down the hall in the direction of the prior footsteps. "Why'd they put you in a bag?" Five asked Six who honestly shrugged. "I don't know." He replied before looking down at the navy silk beneath him and rubbing on it with an ink tipped hand, not caring when ink stained it. "But it's warm."

The one eyed on wasn't exactly sure what to make of the comment or the situation, especially when a suddenly bold Six clasped his key and quietly offered, "Come in?" It was an unsure tone and he regretted it afterwards as fear that he sounded foolish. Yet Five on the other hand didn't feel right turning Six's offer down. It wasn't as though Six got a lot of attention or found a lot of things that took his mind away from drawing for even a second. Even if it was just a bag Five decided to take Six's advice and opened it a bit more.

"Move over a bit." He instructed and Six eagerly did so, moving over just enough so that Five could fit inside. The bag seemed to close in with the other now alongside him and their legs brushed as the Healer crossed his to get comfortable. The Artist felt a little warm in the cheeks, but in a different way than before. He suspected that it was from Five's own body heat which now filled the tight space as well. Along with the smell of freshly cut wood which seemed to resonate off of the Healer as well. They sat beside each other silently for a few seconds.

"Wow, it is warm." Five agreed, rubbing his hands together almost nervously, to which Six smiled, "Told you." They sat beside each other for a few minutes and simply took in the atmosphere. It was a bit of a tight squeeze and when Five went to move his knee brushed Six's thigh. "Oh, sorry!" He apologized in embarrassment and a strange defensiveness that Six didn't understand. He didn't respond and merely watched as the Healer tried to strike up a conversation, "Any idea why the twins put you in a bag?"

He was trying to take his mind off of the brushing and Six wondered if he was so upset because he had actually touched the striped one. As though he was dirty or something. Yet part of Six's thoughts reminded him that he wasn't exactly clean with the thick ink stains. "I don't know. They just did and brought me here." Five looked out of the opening of the bag before pulling it closed a bit, "Umm… Maybe the twins wanted me to get in the bag too?" He suggested quietly in an attempt to lighten the thick air between them.

"They left me a note saying that it was for me or you were for me, or- I don't know." He rambled absentmindedly and the Artist thought of an idea. Five was having trouble getting the bag closed and it would clearly be beneficial to keep it closed as they would be secluded somewhat, so Six wanted to help, and even though a nagging feeling told him not to he reached up as well to help Five. He tried to help, but the second his hand brushed Five's the Healer drew back yet again. Now Six felt downhearted and the need to apologize, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch you."

Five seemed speechless for a second before returning his hand, "No, don't apologize, I'm just… I'm just a little jumpy. Don't mind me." Something about Five's hand returning beside his, about the gesture, made any previous doubts disappear as the bag was closed tight. Then they sat back down. Five eventually broke the silence again, "We're in the hallway so we'll probably need to move soon." Six clearly wasn't pleased to hear this as his small smile dropped immediately. Five felt quite guilty and insisted, "But we can stay a few more minutes."

At this point Six spoke, "Okay… Thank you." Five was surprised, "For what?" The striped one explained warmly, "That you're here with me. The bag's a lot nicer when you're here." He was plainly trying to be nice, but Five looked quite humbled by it, if not embarrassed. "Y-Yeah. It's a nice bag." Something nearly slipped off of his tongue at that moment but he caught himself. Yet at the same time he sort of toyed with the idea of going ahead with what he wanted to. "Since we don't have much longer before someone finds us, umm… We could... I know a way we can get warmer."

With this suggestion Six blinked his large optics in questioning, "How?" He noticed the other rubbing his hands together with his usual anxiousness, "I could, well, I could hold you." He suggested, his voice shuddering partway through. The smaller was surprising by the suggestion. At first he couldn't believe that the other was actually suggesting something that seemed taboo, "Hold me? How?" Maybe it was just a friendly touch, he assumed, but part of him hoped for something different. He couldn't understand what this part was.

"I could show you." Five suggested after struggling for words for a few seconds. After all, he worked better with his hands then with his words, and because of this Six decided to trust him. He answered with a nod and the burlap one slid closer to him before reaching out to touch Six's arms. While Six didn't realize it, this wasn't the first time that Five had imagined taking the smaller into his arms and simply holding him tight. So as he pulled Six closer there was a desire that even he didn't understand.

Six didn't notice Five's eagerness because he was too distracted with his own. The next thing he knew he was climbing into the other's lap in a surprising choice of move. Neither stopped; Five held him around his midsection, Six rested his head against the one eyed male's chest. He could hear the slightly rapid beating of Five's pulse and loved the sound, pressing tighter to listen to the soft music that Five naturally made. Five, meanwhile, couldn't believe he was holding Six so close and was only thankful that Six wasn't uncomfortable.

"Six…" He started quietly, "I, umm, I know this is probably different than you've been held before and if you want to stop-…" Six cut him off as he burrowed tighter into his chest as though he was afraid the other would pull back. "No, I like it. I like it a lot." Five exhaled a bit and smiled to him, "I'm glad." A few seconds passed, Six sighed and took in the smell of Five's burlap, reaching out to wrap his arms somewhat around Five's to pull them closer. Even though burlap wasn't exclusively soft, Five's felt so, and it was quite nice on his stripes.

Five rested his head against Six's yarn and sighed at the softness, "Six…" He murmured in a soothing tone to which the smaller didn't respond, just continued to lay against him, optics closing and face going serene. Between the warmth, the surprising comfort of being protected by the fabric bag, and Five himself Six found him drifting off. It wasn't until after he had fallen asleep that Five noticed and now was a little unsure of what to do. It didn't help that he knew their time was limited and decided not to wake the striped one.

Instead he tugged the bag open again before slipping his arms underneath the Artist's back and knees. He was exhausted from an unknown amount of time without sleeping and the last thing the Healer wanted was to wake him. He held him close, tucking the striped one's head under his own, and then stood and let the bag fall to the ground at his feet. Now holding Six in the light he decided to take him to his bed to rest, only to pause at the sound of movement and glance down the hall to see the twins watching.

They dipped back out of view and Five could only wonder how long it had been since they started watching. Either way, he decided to continue taking Six to bed, leaning down to manage and grab the bag before bringing it along with them in case they needed it again. After all, they wouldn't be in the hall anymore, and they could spend as much time as they wanted. He had a feeling that bag would come in handy in the future. Meanwhile the twins had a feeling that they would be testing their skill with matchmaking in the near future.

Though they wondered if they even could even fit Eight in a bag. They would find out soon enough.

_**FIN**_

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**Mable: I rewrote the ending a few times and yet it still feels a bit… Rushed. Trust me, it's better than the earlier draft by far. I guess I've just been distracted; the new kittens are starting to turn from cute to a handful right before my eyes. I won't bore with the details; that's a story for another time. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


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